New beginnings requires renewing of the mind

Advice for New Christians

Thank you for choosing to Journey with Christ.

Christianity starts as a journey of transformation, learning and discovering the love of God. When I first made a firm decision to choose Christ I wasn't aware that the Christian life requires a new mindset too. Read all about it here

It is important to start the journey with a fresh new outlook towards life. I compare this to relocating to a new country or starting a job at a new company. When in a new country it's likely that you will change the way you used to do things, your entire daily routine changes, you will adapt to the new culture. When you start a new job at a new company, you will have to follow new processes and work with new systems. These changes will bring about new ways of thinking, a new mindset. Similarly, as new Christians you need to take the necessary steps to help yourself in this beautiful journey.

You cannot do this journey on your own, so here are some tips to get started:

• Invite God into your life, officially accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

Simple prayer:

'Dear Lord Jesus, I invite you into my life and I accept you as my Lord and Saviour, I believe You died for my sins and sicknesses, rose up again and gained victory for my life. I confess that I was a sinner, I accept your forgiveness. Thank you for your mercy, grace and Love. Help me, guide me and lead me into living a fulfilled, victorious life with you. Amen.'

• God knows that you are not perfect. He knows that human-beings are bound to mess up, therefore God's pure love endures forever. He is merciful and forgiving because we are fallible. Turning away from sins, or turning away from the old way of thinking and behaving might not be so simple, you must get help when you're ready. Don't beat yourself up, instead pick yourself up and keep trying. God loves you!

• Bear in mind that Pastors and Christian people are fallible human beings too. They are imperfect people and bound to disappoint you because they are not God.

• The Word of God is an essential part of the journey. If possible get a hard-copy Bible, be sure to find a suitable version, easy for you to understand.

• Join a free online bible study, currently Joyce Meyer Ministries has good free courses: https://joycemeyer.org/study or the Daily Bread University has a wealth of free courses for old and new Christians: https://odbu.org/courses/sf106/

• Always pray, ask God for wisdom and understanding, before you read and study your bible. I propose you start with the book of John to understand Jesus's ministry (click on the link for the online version).

• Finally, don't settle for the first Church you hear about, try out different churches. Ensure that the church offers different courses, counselling and support groups. Visit the Churches website to find out what their beliefs and values are.

The Church that I attend offers different courses that helps me throughout life. The Alpha course introduces the basics of Christian faith. It is a great course offered by many Churches around the world. Alpha Course: (https://alpha.org/preview/alpha-with-nicky-gumbel/

Once you settle in a church, join a connect group (cell group meetings), fellowship with other Christians bearing in mind that church people are imperfect because they are human.

Pray always, as prayer is communication between you and God, build a relationship with God. Jesus Christ our Lord saved you because He loves you, you don't owe anyone anything for choosing to be a Christian.

Ephesians 2:8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift.

Most importantly, as you journey with Christ, you will realize that problems are inevitable but problems become testimonies, you will have more inner peace than before.

Seek God first in all your ways.

Enjoy the Journey and be sure to share your testimonies with us, click here

God Bless you.

~Natlie Loots~